Public Service Games<\/strong><\/p>\n The national football league takes a 2 month break for the holiday season. During this time most people travel to their home of origin to be with their extended families and clans. The civil workers take this opportunity to host a variety of sporting \u00a0tournaments under the moniker of the \u201cPublic Service Games\u201d. I was invited to play goalkeeper for the Matichere (teachers) and of course accepted the offer without hesitation. The first game(and semi-final) was played on December 4th<\/sup> against the corrections officers. I didn\u2019t realize beforehand how popular these games were. For league games there\u2019s usually 50-100 spectators in the stands, but for this game there had to be at least 500 in attendance.<\/p>\n The first half was a battle in the midfield and I didn\u2019t see much action. We scored within the first minute of the 2nd<\/sup> half and from here I was confident of our chances.<\/p>\n At the 70\u2019 it seemed our guys began to tire. The oppositions attack was growing more frequent and our guys were struggling to come up with an answer. It came to a boil when one of our defenders committed a foul in the box with about 10 minutes remaining. Penalty kicks are something I have little experience in as they are not common in indoor soccer. But through excessive FIFA gaming I was able to employ a basic strategy. The player lined up for his shot. I correctly guessed his direction and location, but unfortunately he put it right on the post and I missed it by only a few inches. With the score tied at 1-1 overtime was all but guaranteed. Instead of playing an extra time period of 30 minutes, they instead went right into a penalty kick shootout. The scene was unreal. Almost all 500 spectators formed a half circle around the goal.<\/p>\n Amidst chants and singing I could tell this was going to be epic. They had first shot so I was thrust right into the spotlight. 1 on 1; striker vs. keeper\u2026 with a disproportionally sized goal to defend. The odds are always in favor with the striker in such a situation. I guessed left, he went right. Oops. Thankfully our striker responded in kind, so it was tied 1-1 at this point. As I entered for the 2nd<\/sup> attempt, the chants grew louder and I could tell the crowd was rallying behind the foreigner. My adrenaline was flowing as the striker positioned the ball on the line. I knew he was going to go low-right. \u201cStrong foot across the body,\u201d I thought. With that I timed the dive almost to perfection and swatted the ball safely to the right. The crowd erupted. This gave us the clear advantage so long as our strikers were successful with the next two attempts. Once again, the pressure got to our striker and he lifted his shot over the goal. Eish. He was a close friend and colleague so I ran up to him after his miss and offered condolences while also promising to save the next shot for him. I don\u2019t like to break promises and with that I correctly guessed low-right, again, and made the fingtertip save. This time some of the fans ran on to the pitch to give high-fives and hugs. It wasn\u2019t over yet, we still had to score in our attempt. Alas, we did, and a massive celebration ensued that carried into the wee hours. That win guaranteed us a spot in the final and a chance to win and go on to compete in the national tournament. Moreover, the final was to be played in Katse, arguably the most scenic area in the country.<\/p>\n Fate was against us, however, and we struggled to keep up with the highly touted Police team. They beat us 0-2 in a surprisingly well-matched game. The local radio station broadcasted both games live, and to my surprise I was a major talking point. They referred to me solely as \u201cKopano the lekhooa\u201d which means \u201cKopano the white guy\u201d. The fact this echoed through the mountain airwaves of this remote part of this world is hilarious to me. Apparently they had nothing but high praise and respect for my keeping efforts.<\/p>\n College Graduation Party<\/strong><\/p>\n One of my friends and former colleagues at Thaba Tseka High School invited me to attend his sister\u2019s graduation ceremony. She recently earned a teaching degree from the University of Lesotho. Per tradition, her family hosted a \u201cmokete\u201d, or village party to commemorate her successful efforts. Having been to a similar graduation ceremony during HVV<\/a>, I accepted the offer with great anticipation for the event.<\/p>\n It would be rather difficult to describe the day\u2019s various performances and speeches, so instead I invite you to check out this video compilation I made:![\"IMG_20141204_040257\"](\"https:\/\/traviswohlrab.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/IMG_20141204_040257.jpg\")
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\n– –\u00a0http:\/\/youtu.be\/a3pcKh2BgDs<\/a>
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